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Mobility · Yoga

One-Legged King Pigeon Pose

One-Legged King Pigeon Pose combines a pigeon stretch with a deep backbend and an overhead hold of the rear foot. It challenges hip, thigh, shoulder, and upper-back mobility.

  • Advanced
  • Moderate injury risk
  • No rest timer
Video by Rakesh Rao on YouTube

How to do it

  1. From all fours, bring your right knee behind your right wrist, with your right foot angled toward your left hip.
  2. Slide your left leg straight back along the mat, with your torso upright.
  3. Bend your left knee so your foot points toward the ceiling.
  4. Loop a yoga strap around your left foot.
  5. Reach both arms overhead with the strap ends in your hands, elbows bent and chest arched upward.
  6. Hold the position with gentle tension on the strap.
  7. Lower your rear foot slowly, letting the strap slide through your hands.
  8. Return to all fours before switching sides.

Form cues

  • Keep breathing slow and easy.
  • Let your neck follow your spine.
  • Keep your grip light.

Common mistakes

  • Forcing the front shin parallelLet your front shin stay diagonal rather than pushing your foot forward.
  • Collapsing into the lower backUse a smaller backbend with more of the curve coming through your upper back.
  • Pulling the foot toward the headKeep enough strap length that you can hold the position without forcing contact.

Safety

Forcing the front hip position can twist the knee. Pulling hard on the rear foot can strain the bent knee, shoulders, or lower back, especially as you tire.

  • Warm up with gentle hip, shoulder, and back movements before attempting this pose.
  • Place a block under the front-side hip if your pelvis cannot stay supported and level.
  • Stop for joint pain, pinching, numbness, or tingling rather than holding through it.
  • Practice basic pigeon comfortably before adding the rear-knee bend and overhead reach.

Choose a simpler pigeon variation or seek advice from a physiotherapist first if you have knee, hip, shoulder, or back problems.

Muscles worked

Front
Back

Primary muscles

  • Glutes
  • Hip Flexors

Secondary muscles

  • Front Delts
  • Lower Back
  • Triceps

Equipment

  • Yoga Block (optional)
  • Yoga Mat
  • Yoga Strap (optional)

Sets and reps

Sets
1–2
Target
10–20 seconds per side
Rest
No rest timer

Start with short holds; only extend the time while the position remains comfortable.

Variations

Easier